1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the packaging of computing systems and more particularly to a method and assembly for enhancing structural integrity and improving serviceability of large computing system environments.
2. Description of Background
The industry trend has been to continuously increase the number of electronic components inside computing environments while maintaining or even reducing the environment's footprint. Computer environments can vary in range and sophistication. Simple environments can only comprise of a single computer unit while more sophisticated environments can comprise of networks of large computers that are in processing communication with one another. No matter what the size of the environment, the current industry trend has created design challenges for the developers and manufacturers of such environments. When the environments are larger and more sophisticated, however, the issues become more complex. This is because changing even the most isolated component, in such an environment, can affect so many others. This is especially true when such components are packaged together in a single assembly or housed in close proximity. A particularly difficult challenge when designing such computing system environments is the issue of mechanical and structural integrity. This is because so many other factors both depend and affect structural integrity. Heat dissipation, electrical connections, system performance and system recovery are a few such examples.
Conventional large computing system environments that incorporate one or more sophisticated units such as servers, house many electronic components together on boards that are then housed in a single assembly. These assemblies often comprise of metal racks and among the many challenges discussed, dynamic loading effects to these racks and their housed electronic components needs also be considered so as not to cause electrical and mechanical failures.
In recent years, both environmental catastrophic events and man-made conditions have placed an even greater demand on the designers of computer systems to provide environments that are structurally enhanced so as to be able to withstand sudden abnormal shock or persistent vibrations for long periods of time. Such factors as heat dissipation, electrical connections and others have to be considered carefully in the design of such environments as to fully preserve structural integrity. An environment's inability to withstand such extreme conditions may cause data loss and system collapse at a critical time, potentially affecting lives and infrastructures.
The prior art has tried to resolve the problems that arise from catastrophic events that can affect the structural integrity of the environment in a number of ways. Most of these prior art solutions, however, are inadequate or are meant to only provide a temporary relief. For example, in areas that are routinely exposed to earthquakes or vibrations, structures using frame ties or even node lock mechanisms that ultimately bolts the rack and the nodes to the floor are provided in an attempt to stabilize the computing environment during such vibrations. Many of these prior art methods do not mitigate all issues successfully. However, even if they do mitigate most of the aforementioned structural integrity issues, unfortunately, they still pose inherent drawbacks. One serious drawback of such prior art methods has to do with ease of serviceability (including installation and maintenance) of computing environments. Methods such as bolting schemes, for example, render nodes not readily or concurrently serviceable.
Consequently, it is desirable to introduce a solution that can provide improved structural integrity for system environments, enabling them to withstand abnormal shocks and vibrations while not affecting serviceability issues.